


Tick Down to Dust

by littlebluewhalen



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Chat Blanc - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Kind of fluffy, LadyNoir - Freeform, Reveal, fluff-ish, kind of AU-ish i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22443442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebluewhalen/pseuds/littlebluewhalen
Summary: Because when nothing's okay and the world's against them, they still have each other. That's what it means to trust, to believe, to love.(Short Chat Blanc one-shot//)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 56





	Tick Down to Dust

Marinette held him tightly in her arms, refusing to let go, refusing to look at him, refusing to face him.

“Bugaboo?” came his gentle call, and she was suddenly snapped back to reality. She was hysterically sobbing in his chest, her arms a vice grip around his torso, her body rigid. She tensed up at his voice – so calm, so gentle – and forced herself to peel away from him. 

She gazed up at him, her arms still locked around his back, and made out his blurry face through her tears. He was looking back at her; green eyes, blonde hair, slightly tanned skin. He was entirely Adrien. She shuddered, choking back the rest of her tears, finally removing her arms from his figure, taking a step back and rubbing at her face. She sniffled and peered up at him once more, noting how concerned, confused and slightly scared he looked. She supposed he’d never seen her break down before, as either Marinette or Ladybug. 

“S…Sorry,” She stuttered out, still overcome with emotions. She said nothing else, staring at the ground, replaying the events over and over and over _and over-_

“Marinette,” Adrien called out once again, settling a hand lightly on her arm, “I’m here. I’m back, and… I’m not going anywhere.” He said gently, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. Marinette’s eyes filled with tears once more, and she heard Adrien’s breath hitch, before both of his arms pulled her into an embrace once again. He had one arm around her waist, holding her close, the other was running through her hair in soothing motions. She was against his chest once again, her hands clutching the fabric of his shirt, her tears soaking the black fabric.

“B-But I did lose you, and… and I thought – I didn’t think I’d ever get you back! You’re my partner, my best friend, and you’re just- you’re j-just so… so important to me, Adrien, and I – you’re Adrien! I almost lost two of the most important guys in my life! And I- I wasn’t… I wasn’t s-strong enough, and I… God, and – and your dad, and your mom, and – I – I can’t! I’m so s-sorry!” Marinette yelled her speech into his chest, her voice muffled. Adrien’s heart broke for her, even when he was so sure it couldn’t break anymore. 

“Okay, it’s… it’s…” Adrien trailed off, because, no, it wasn’t really okay. At all. Before he knew it, the shock and trauma of the entire situation caught up to him, and he was hugging her fiercely around her waist and burying his face in her hair, sobbing along with her. 

They didn’t say anything for a long time. They were in a long-abandoned building that they’d set up and used as their base for some time now, in a dark part of Paris. Marinette had swung there with her partner, Chat Noir, when she was finally able to release the akuma from his form. It had been a long, long battle; it spanned multiple days and required the help of many of Marinette's temporary superheroes. Before the battle had even began, Chat had caught Marinette transforming; after the battle, Chat just about keeled over from exhaustion as his transformation slipped, and in the darkness of the night, Ladybug had grabbed him and swung him to their warehouse. While making her way there, Adrien woke up in her arms, bleary and confused, and she dropped her transformation, her own exhaustion hitting her like a freight train.  


Chat would remember everything that happened, because unlike a regular akuma victim, he had a miraculous. The akuma rendered Plagg useless, but didn’t corrupt the miraculous; if it did, Adrien’s ring would be broken, and there’d be no coming back from it. This means that while Adrien was under control, Plagg wasn’t, and saw and remembered the entire event.  


Which, in turn, means Adrien remembered the attack too, as an effect of their bond. 

Marinette almost wishes he’d forgotten.  
When they’d both cried all the tears they could produce and they were simply holding each other in the silence of the warehouse, a voice finally spoke up. 

“Kid…” Plagg’s raspy voice started, but seemingly at a loss for words. He snuggled into his chosen’s hair comfortingly, and Adrien sighed. 

“I know, Plagg. Thanks.” Adrien replied, reaching a hang up to rub Plagg’s head slightly, off-handedly wondering when he and Marinette had sunk to the floor.

“I’m sorry, Chat Noir.” Another voice popped up. Adrien swiveled his head around to the source, seeing Tikki float above Marinette’s right shoulder. He simply nodded numbly at the little creature.

“I can’t believe its you.” He murmured, his eyes focused back on Marinette. She nervously bit her lip, not really knowing what that meant.

“Y-yeah. Who would’ve guessed, right? With how much I trip over myself at school…” Marinette trailed off, trying to make a joke, but not having the strength to sound even the slightest bit chipper. Adrien shook his head lightly. 

“No, it fits. There’s a reason why I call you our everyday Ladybug. I’m glad.” Adrien clarified, smiling lightly down at her. His arms had dropped from her, and now they simply sat side-by-side, backs up against a wall. He grabbed her hand lightly in his, smoothing his thumb over her knuckles. Marinette’s face bloomed into a brilliant blush, and Adrien felt parts of his heart being mended, even if just slightly.

“I’m glad it’s you, too. I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else.” Marinette muttered, staring at the ground, but squeezing his hand lightly. Adrien blushed a bit as well, before letting his head fall back against the wall and staring at the ceiling. 

“Except for maybe someone whose father isn’t Hawkmoth?” He asked. It was supposed to be a joke, really, but… he couldn’t help but feel the words as they left his mouth. Marinette frowned slightly. 

“No one else, Adrien.” She said firmly, and Adrien peered down at her through his periphery.

She was strikingly beautiful, as he had always thought. This girl had always been an enigma to him; he could never get close to her as either Marinette or Ladybug. She had never shown him as much love as she had shown him; as Marinette, she always seemed jittery around him, though she would still do kind things for him. As Ladybug, she rebuked his affections, and attempted to keep their friendliness to a minimum. He’d always had his doubts about the depths of her care for him, but this incident had wiped all worry from his mind. Seeing how concerned she was for him, seeing how hard she fought for him, seeing her choose him over getting the peacock miraculous back; seeing how hard she cried for him, how scared she was… he realized that she loved him, too.

“You’re my other half, and I’m yours. That wasn’t a mistake, it was fate. And I… I can’t work a Miraculous charm on you and make everything better, no matter how much I w-wish I could. But, if you need anything at all… a-anyway I can help… I’m here for you.” Marinette started again, pulling him out of his thoughts. He felt a surge of warmth work its way through his numb body, and he looped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side, dropping a kiss to her hair. 

“I love you.”

Marinette tensed up, and for a moment he was scared he got everything wrong. His mind started racing in overdrive as his face stayed buried in her hair, eyes screwed shut, trying to even his breathing. Until-

“I love you, too.”

Adrien smiled into her hair, squeezing her impossibly closer, to which she let out an airy giggle. 

Nothing was okay, nothing was alright. They were teenaged superheroes, about to enter a fight for their lives and the safety of hundreds of thousands of people. There was a talk with their kwamis coming somewhere down the line about hope and power and trust. There would be decisions to be made about their miraculous-wielding friends supporting them in battle, and there would be a plan made for their final showdown with Hawkmoth, and discussions about how to handle the inevitable fallout. There would be tears and pain and an indescribable shadow of lingering fear. 

But right now, the two would embrace each other. They would cry and love and block out the rest of what's coming; they would seal this moment in their memories, in their heart of hearts, learning and living and loving.

Right now, they would exist, ignoring the countdown ticking to dust.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all liked this short little thing. I've been considering writing a follow-up to it in which they go after Hawkmoth, but I'm unsure if I want to go through with it lol. I don't usually write action; my stories are usually more abstract and introspective rather than concrete and plot-based. But we'll see!


End file.
